Other Great Orgs

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The following was originally posted on September 27, 2011 on Kristina's blog. It is being re-posted as part of our CHICKS ROCK! Summer Retrospective.

CHICKS ROCK! is happy to have Kristina back as a guest blogger this week.

Kristina Leonardi is the founder of The Women’s Mosaic.
She is a career/life coacch, speaker, seminar leader and
expert in the areas of career development, work/life wellness and
personal growth.I recently
attended the screening of a very cool documentary called Connected. An ambitious
undertaking, filmmaker Tiffany Shlain has presented some interesting ideas and
factoids in a unique visual way about the history of who we are and the
connections we have to each other from the past, present and where we might be
headed in the future.

One of the
best tidbits I learned was that if you
hug someone for six seconds or more, a dose of the feel-good hormone oxytocin
is released.

Many of you
who have worked with me individually, in a group or have talked to me after one
of my workshops or seminars know that
I’m a big hugger. In addition to hugging my clients and
audience members, I tend to hug strangers after a meaningful conversation, and
even in more professional situations, say after a meeting, which may or may not
be kosher, but I can’t
help it; I often randomly hug friends, family members and
co-workers because I somehow sense they need one, and I will occasionally
request one myself (especially from a super-good hugger, like my bro!)

Why? I
actually never thought about it. It’s just always been a natural
extension of who I am, the work I do and my love of people in general. If
I had to intellectualize it, perhaps it’s about sealing an interaction in a “Yes, I see and hear you, you see and
hear me, and we can show mutual love, respect and care for each other as human
beings in the most tangible way.”

And
let’s face it, who couldn’t use a hug now and then? We should be
able to give and receive hugs freely, but for those of you who need to justify
your request, there’s a scientific explanation, because hey, who wouldn’t want
to get a little shot of some naturally feel-good feelings?! So forget about
the economy and the internet, because the true currency of connection is the HUG,
and the good news is that it’s available worldwide and abundant in infinite
amounts.

Feeling a
little stressed or simply need a boost to brighten your day? Instead of
reaching for that Twix bar or beer, have no fear, don’t you pout just say hello and hug
it out!

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